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Save the Mystic

$2,090
of $100k goal

WE have received a $400,000 pledge for funding. However to get it, we need to raise $100,000 from private sources. WE need all the help we can get please pledge today!

The SV Mystic: A School Ship for Long Island Sound

This vessel will serve to:

provide an 8-week
summer camp for up to 240 at-risk youth annually

create a boating education platform from across the New York and New England Region

Create an global environmental educational tool for some of our most at-risk kid and families from the Long Island Sound region

Create a community resource for families to get out and learn about the sound by living aboard a 171-foot sailing vessel in Long Island Sound

Today marks an important day forward for Long Island Sound as we begin creating Connecticut's School Ship.

I say Connecticut's school ship, because that is where The Mystic located and that is where we will likely home port her when she goes into service. It is also the home waters of Connecticut Community Boating and where we have based much of our programming for the last six years.

But she really is LONG ISLAND SOUND's school ship.

The Mystic will serve families near and far including New York, Rhode Island, and farther south like Maryland, Bermuda and Jamaica. She will not only serve Connecticut kids, but will be open to at-risk youth from across the region as a therapeutic vessel aimed at getting kids on a course for success in life.

As a New England Ambassador, Her flags will fly from cool rocky coast of New England to the warm balmy shores of the Caribbean, always sharing her mission of ocean awareness, public access to the sea and equality, fairness and environmental justice for all regardless of income, residency and social standing.

YOU CAN DOUBLE YOUR IMPACT BY SHARING THIS CAUSE AND GETTING YOUR EMPLOYER TO MATCH YOUR PLEDGE! Share today!

Connecticut Community Boating is committed
to providing access to boating and sailing for everyone in Connecticut. We
believe everyone deserves the right to access the water. This vessel will serve
to bolster that mission by allowing CCB to serve populations from across
Connecticut regardless of residency, income or social standing.

Hello- I wanted to keep you in the loop about the SV Mystic and our efforts to create a school ship for Connecticut. The stage is set, the funding has been sourced, but the time is running out. We're still working though.

This weekend, a bidder came forward to buy the Mystic which would have taken her from our State waters and taken away the chance for thousands of children and families to access Long Island Sound under the sails of a state-of-the-art educational vessel. The chance remains that a buyer may come through at any time to purchase the Mystic and end our effort to create a school ship aboard the potential largest public-access school vessel in the United States to be home ported here in the Great State of Connecticut.

But rest assured, we have the second largest ship on our radar in California for purchase if the Mystic falls through and a third ship in Alaska that could serve the same function if not in different form.

And though we may ultimately miss the boat on this chance, we will sail as if tomorrow is our last chance to sail aboard the Mighty Mystic and take aim at other targets if the stars do not align for us aboard the Mystic.

You can read all about our journey today and track our voyage tomorow live through social media as we tweet back all the images we can muster from the decks of the largest sailing ship to sail Connecticut's shoreline in at least a century. God Speed and Fairwinds to the crew of the Mystic for our adventure tomorrow!

Tomorrow is May 7th, the deadline we have set to raise the requisite $500,000 as a down payment for the Mystic. While it seems clear our Gofundme Campaign will fall short, it is also clear we are within inches of reaching our goal to create a school ship for Long Island Sound.

The $400,000 loan and grant package will be decided to tomorrow by the DECD. Since we are not at the full $100,000 in matching funds raised, they will likely postpone there approval of the package pending evidence that $100,000 is in hand.

The $50,000 pledged from an undisclosed donor is predicate upon the closing on the Mystic which could only happen if we get the $400,000 loan/grant which is predicate upon the full $100,000 in private funding.

Do you prefer chicken or eggs?

In any case, whether we reach our goals this week or not a few simple facts remain.

1) The Mystic is still up for sale and has yet to close. While there is significant interest from other buyers, we have not been made aware of any offers as of yet on the Mystic and since she is closest to home and the most beautiful of vessels, we will continue to endeavor to persevere.

2) IF the Mystic is snapped up by another buyer this week or soon thereafter, we are not abandoning the concept of creating a school ship. There are several other vessels internationally that could serve the same function and while those would require transport to Long Island Sound and other assorted costs, the sticker price for the other vessels could justify those incurred costs. We will wait to discuss any other prospective vessels until we may fully understand where the Mystic, (our first choice) will call home.

3) Gofundme is a novel concept, but clearly has its draw backs. If you would like to make your pledge into a reality, Gofundme will not charge your card. To make your contribution you may go to www.ctcommunityboating.org and donate safely, securely and for the benefit of all residents regardless of income, residency or social standing.

WE got a $50,000 pledge yesterday to bring our total up to $453,000 - Almost there- just not here- Go to http://www.ctcommunityboating.org/ to track our progress and see the latest news on our efforts to Save the Mystic

Sailing is the act of going a long way VERY slowly- and fundraising seems to be the same act. We're making our way, but need your help- Please share this campaign in your network and tell everyone you know what we're aiming to do. We meet with the DECD tomorrow and hope to be able to tell them we're on our way!

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